A devil of a time: Fusion brings Faustian play 'Witch' to the stage

Elizabeth Sawyer was a convicted witch in Jacobean England.

She was executed in 1621.

Fusion alum Jen Silverman turned Sawyer’s story into the Faustian play “Witch,” running at The Cell from Thursday, April 11, through April 21.

A charming devil arrives in the quiet village of Edmonton to bargain for the souls of its residents in exchange for their darkest wishes. Elizabeth should be his easiest target, having been labeled a “witch” and cast out by the town, but her soul is not so readily bought.

Elizabeth’s search for hope mirrors the odd echoes of our own unsure era.

“It’s retold in a modern language, but still set in the 1621 time frame,” said director Robb Sisneros.

The devil is trying to give her options to tell her story, he added.

Elizabeth isn’t the devil’s only target; other characters must also face the devil’s manipulations.

Before he focuses on Elizabeth, the devil stops in on Frank Thorney, an ambitious peasant who has weaseled his way into the good graces of local landowner Sir Arthur Banks, widower father to Cuddy, who yearns for Frank even as he wishes him dead.

“A lot of times the thirst for wealth and power can go hand in hand with a sexual thirst,” Sisneros said.

Scratch offers Frank anything he desires in exchange for his soul. Complacent with his lot, Frank demurs until Scratch prompts him to consider the future. Doing so with an eye on Sir Arthur’s fortune, Frank acquiesces. Cuddy, wishing only to dance the Morris dance (a real-life all-male tradition), sells his soul to see Frank snuffed out. Sir Arthur’s maid, Winnifred, is secretly married to Frank and is carrying his baby. When Scratch comes to her, she asks only to be buried by her husband’s side.

But when he comes to Elizabeth, who having been scapegoated by the community and labeled a witch has more reason to sign than any, she remains a tempting holdout.

In a social setting of nefarious gamesmanship and striving, the devil may just have met his artful match.

“Witch” is the third play by Silverman to see the Fusion stage, along with “The Moors,” and “Princess Marisol and the Moon Thieves.”